National budget 8.31.09

Monday

Aug 31, 2009 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2009 at 3:37 AM

GateHouse News Service National Budget
For 8/31/09 editions

Here are the top national stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/. Please submit stories below no later than 6 pm local time, unless you have breaking news that is changing significantly.

BOOMERS & BEYOND: Our quarterly tab gets into some holiday content (for release in November or December), with recipes for delicious holiday treats, putting the personal touch on your holiday cards and dealing with grief during the holidays.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/homepage/x1886187419/Boomers-magazine-Three-sweet-holiday-treats

VIDEO: What’s new with the News & Interactive Division this week.
http://www.ghnewsroom.com/article/video-whats-happening-week-news-interactive-division-4

NEW HUMOR CARTOONS: This week we introduce Wit’s End, a two-column, single-panel humor cartoon by Hallmark’s Shoebox artist Chuck Ingwersen. These are perfect for your comics page or on biz, lifestyle or news pages. See attached information sheet, and check them out here on the news service:
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/cartoons

Lifestyles

MORNING MINUTES: We've expanded what we're offering in Morning Minutes to provide your paper with more options and to give your readers a couple more interesting tidbits. It now includes Word of the Day, Web Site of the Day, Number to Know, This Day in History, Today’s Featured Birthday and Daily Quote.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/morning_minutes

HEALTH WATCH: Weekly rail, leads with finding relationship refuge in a good night’s sleep, and includes items on patches vs. shots, acupuncture and more.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/homepage/x1566717307/Health-Watch-Finding-relationship-refuge-with-a-good-nights-sleep

SCHOOL LUNCHES: Be smart and healthy when filling the lunch box – Years ago, parents would fill a lunch box with a peanut butter or bologna sandwich, an apple, chips and a cookie and not give the lunch another thought. But that has changed in the face of rising rates of childhood obesity, diabetes and allergies, and with concerns about the long-term health impact of fat and salt.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/east/massachusetts/x1373215028/Be-smart-and-healthy-when-filling-the-lunch-box
- Art: photo

SUZETTE MARTINEZ STANDRING: A boxer’s comeback, based on faith -- The power of prayer amazes famed boxer Micky Ward. Talking about religion makes him uneasy because “people kinda look at you like you’re crazy."
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/east/massachusetts/x1373214888/Suzette-Martinez-Standring-A-boxer-s-comeback-based-on-faith
- Art: column mug

RABBI RANDY KAFKA: The possibility of spiritual metamorphosis - Sometimes we meet someone, or learn something, and in the process we are changed. We are not the same person as we were before this encounter. The trajectory of our life has shifted – sometimes subtly, sometimes profoundly.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/columnists/x357696699/Rabbi-Randy-Kafka-The-possibility-of-spiritual-metamorphosis
- Art: column mug

SHAYNE LOOPER: Would Jesus invite you to follow him on Twitter? – According to some calculations, more than 300 million people worldwide have a Facebook account. TechCrunch.com has reported that an additional 200,000 people visit Twitter every week. These reports left me wondering: What would Jesus do? Would Jesus have a Facebook account? Would he be a twitterer?
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/columnists/x1373214928/Shayne-Looper-Would-Jesus-invite-you-to-follow-him-on-Twitter

'80s ARE BACK: Fall’s fashions draw inspiration from '80s -- Many of the back-to-school looks this year will be strangely familiar. If you don’t recall them from last season, check out your high school photo album from the 1980s.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/family/x357696588/Fall-s-fashions-draw-inspiration-from-80s

FASHION TIPS: Seamstress has budget-friendly tips for getting new fall look - Skinny jeans, ruffles, Brit-inspired plaids, longer shirts and leggings, and slimmed-up blazers dominate the pages of the hefty September issues of fashion magazines. And while it may not be economically feasible to purchase a new fall wardrobe, a good tailor or seamstress can update existing pieces with accents from the ’80s or reshape items to this season’s fitted silhouettes and pencil skirts inspired by the AMC television series “Mad Men.” By Linda Murphy.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/fashion/x1566718062/Seamstress-has-budget-friendly-tips-for-getting-new-fall-look
- Art: 2 photos

PRIVATE EYE: Being a private eye not all glitz and glamour - Often it involves hours of tracking witnesses, transcribing statements, giving testimony and mind-numbing surveillance. “They’re not going to start a TV series about me. A lot of times it’s very tedious and boring,” said Lakeville’s Paul R. Colombo, a licensed PI since 2001. By Lakeville.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/east/massachusetts/x425635565/Being-a-private-eye-not-all-glitz-and-glamour
- Art: 4 photos

Entertainment

SUDOKU: Puzzles for September (435-462) are available for download. Previous puzzles are linked to in this file, or visit our Puzzles category.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/puzzles/x1886174743/Sudoku-puzzles-435-462-September-puzzles

BOOK REVIEW: The Passionate Olive: 101 Things to do with Olive Oil - For many of us who love food and cooking, curling up with a new cookbook is a cherished time to be savored. Between ramped-up and revived recipes, inspiring ingredient combinations and cutting-edge culinary techniques, most cookbooks are all-you-can-read buffets of information – letting readers pick and choose exactly what they wish to devour. “The Passionate Olive” by Carol Firenze not only offers some great recipes, it also features ways to “improve your life, love and health.” In her book, Firenze fulfills her promise to share “101 Things to Do with Olive Oil.” But it’s evident her love and appreciation of olive oil goes beyond a simple how-to guide. By Lori Kilchermann of the Freeport Journal-Standard.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/how_to/x1886184714/Book-review-The-Passionate-Olive-101-Things-to-do-with-Olive-Oil

Opinions

GRANLUND CARTOON: On the U.S. plan for dealing with the Taliban.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/cartoons/x1373214758/Granlund-cartoon-On-the-U-S-plan-for-dealing-with-the-Taliban

WIT’S END: New 2-column humor cartoon from Chuck Ingwersen: This one on wearing pants in the office.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/cartoons/x1528818894/Wits-End-Lets-start-wearing-pants

JEFF VRABEL: Even the Colonel knows that bread sucks.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1886194537/Jeff-Vrabel-Even-the-Colonel-knows-that-bread-sucks

PETER COSTA: Labor Day memory -- The oddest job I ever had was as a security guard in a cookie factory in downtown Oakland, Calif. It was the summer of 1969, and Oakland, the home of the Black Panthers, was bubbling over in protests and demonstrations.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/east/massachusetts/x1886194658/Peter-Costa-Labor-Day-memory
Art: column mug

KENNETH KNEPPER: Creative ideas for financial peace of mind -- As a
television spokesperson rambled on about the economy and the impending
demise for humankind, I wondered if we might be on the brink of complete
social breakdown.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/kansas/x1886194919/Kenneth-Knepper-Creative-ideas-for-financial-peace-of-mind

News

ROCKY MARCIANO’S DEATH: Rocky died 40 years ago today. His death was 'an awful shock.' By Jim Fenton / Brockton. With video and photos.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/east/massachusetts/x1373215058/Rocky-part-2-Marcianos-death-was-an-awful-shock

GIMME AN ‘OW:’ Cheerleaders trying to reduce injury risk -SPRINGFIELD – There’s no way to put it delicately: Cheerleading can be hazardous. Cheerleading and cheerleading safety have been getting a lot of media attention recently because of the release of the 26th annual study “Catastrophic Sports Injury Research: Fall 1982-Spring 2008” from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study found that a major factor in the increase of catastrophic injuries to female athletes was due to cheerleading, which now involves gymnastic-type stunts. The number of emergency-room visits made each year due to cheerleading injuries more than quintupled from 1980 to 1997. By Tamara Browning of the State Journal-Register. To localize: Check with local schools to see if they’ve have an increase in cheerleading injuries.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1886181370/Gimme-an-ow-Cheerleaders-trying-to-reduce-injury-risk

CHECKOUT LANE: Tips for buying a kayak - Douglass Gray, owner of Billington Sea Kayak in Plymouth, Mass., advises people to try out a boat in the water before buying it. “Putting you in a boat on the showroom floor is OK if you plan to paddle around the living room, but it’s not the real world.” By Brent Lang.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x1566717463/Checkout-Lane-Tips-for-buying-a-kayak
- Art: 3 photos

MAKING CENTS: Ignore estate tax planning at your peril - There is not a very high percentage of Americans who need worry about the federal death tax at this point. The federal government allows the first $3.5 million of net worth for each resident citizen to pass to heirs, estate-tax-free, or up to $7 million for married couples who do some basic planning. But without even a basic estate plan, couples could miss the full exemption and pay a steep seven-figure federal tax bill. By John P. Napolitano.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x1566717609/Making-Cents-Ignore-estate-tax-planning-at-your-peril
- Art: Column mug

FINE PRINT: First-time home buyers are running out of time to get tax credit - Potential first-time home buyers who are wondering whether they should get into the market to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit shouldn’t wait much longer. By Jon Chesto.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/business/x1373197880/Fine-Print-First-time-home-buyers-are-running-out-of-time-to-get-tax-credit

SCHOOL SPENDING: Parents backing off on back-to-school spending - Those who plan on heading to the mall for some back-to-school shopping this week may have a little more elbow room while perusing the racks of clothes and shelves of school supplies. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2009 Back to School Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, the average family with students in grades kindergarten through 12 is expected to spend $548.72 on school merchandise, a decline of 7.7 percent from $594.24 in 2008.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/east/massachusetts/news/x1886183398/Parents-backing-off-on-back-to-school-spending
- Art: 3 photos
- LOCALIZE IT: Talk to stores, parents in your area to see if the trend holds true

NETWORKING: Hooking up with your next job is all about relationships - ROCKFORD – Networking has become a vital tool for job hunters who find blind calls, employment fairs and online resume applications insufficient in their quest for work. But building relationships takes time, experts say. The best networking starts when you don’t need it. Then when you do need it, those contacts are available. By Sean F. Driscoll of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x357696917/More-people-seek-technical-retraining

Sports

NASCAR: Georgia on their minds.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/ghns_pages/x1566717971/NASCAR-page-Georgia-on-their-minds